Scientists have discovered a way to use simple table sugar as a main ingredient in a brand-new super battery. Besides the fact that the battery mainly uses sugar to create an electrical power source, it should also last up to four times longer than current lithium-ion batteries used in cell-phones, laptops, and MP3 players. While this is good news for anyone who uses these devices, snooty technomaniacs will also be able claim that they are helping the environment, since these batteries will be biodegradable.

A St. Louis University researcher named Shelley Minteer and her colleagues have adapted the concepts of a fuel cell with enzymes from nature that take the charges from sugar and turn them into electricity. Since all of the materials used in this sugar fuel-cell are natural (which includes a membrane of chitosan, a commercial compound from crustaceans) the advantages reach far beyond the longer charge-life and competitively cheap production cost.

There are already talks about using this technology in weapons and defense, as well as extreme temperature environments. Likewise, due to the long battery life, there are certainly good applications for this product to be used in cases where replacing a battery is much more difficult or tedious, as well as within computer products ranging from portable entertainment devices to health-related electronics.

As far as the sugar source goes:

So far the researchers have run the batteries on sap from trees and cacti, flat soda and sweetened drink mixes. They also tested fizzy sodas, but Minteer noted the carbonation appears to weaken the fuel cell. So far the best fuel source is simply ordinary table sugar dissolved in water.

This means that this novel idea could even become part of a survival handbook or children’s science experiment, since the main ingredient can be found in the kitchen cabinet (sure does beat a potato and a lightbulb). Minteer and her group stated that the sugar batteries should be on the market within the next three to five years, depending on the funding and production opportunities. Even with such a long wait, most people will probably leave with a sweet taste in their mouth.

[Via livescience]

1. Clement says:
   March 27th, 2007 at 4:02 am

   This is quite interesting. My country Malawi produces a lot of sugar and has the potential to produce even more. I am sure we will be amongst the front-runners in this revolution.